Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share
by the morrighan
Summary: My version of a season six.  This is the fourth story.
1. Chapter 1

Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share

"Colonel Sheppard to the control room."

The announcement blared from the PA speaker, but the voice was calm. Yet John Sheppard could discern a trace of anxiety in Chuck Campbell's voice. John stood, about to exit the physics lab. Even after he looked away from the monitors the equations and formulas and star grids still danced in front of his eyes and he blinked to remove them from his mind's eye.

All that science in his head was giving him a headache.

"Wait, John!" Rodney McKay insisted, sitting in the middle of computers and charts and screens and data pads like a spider in a web. "Don't you see the significance? I used the city's long range scanners now that we are back online and this discrepancy, this shock wave, this massive outburst of energy originated from across the galaxy! It was a massive but contained blast, not an imploding star or black hole! I don't think it was an extraterrestrial event like a comet exploding or even impacting a planet or an asteroid field although there are certain similarities in the gravitational-"

"Later, Rodney," John interrupted the flow of words and science. "Tell me when you do know what is was and not what it isn't."

"Huh?"

"You know what I mean! If there's any relevance tell me."

"Of course there's relevance!" Rodney shouted at John's back as the military commander made his speedy exit. "John! This could be significant if it wasn't a natural event! Something happened out there and we are only feeling the impact now, which means that whatever it was it was big, real big, I mean colossal and there could be serious repercussions! John!"

John could hear his friend's voice all the way down the hallway, and it was only silenced once he got into a transporter and was instantly taken to another part of the city. He strode to the control room. Richard Woolsey was standing at a console, eyes narrowed as he regarded a screen. The Stargate was active. The wormhole shimmered like a pool of light, rippling with invitation. John stepped next to Evan Lorne as he stood waiting. "Major?"

Evan shrugged. "Incoming, sir, but so far no code has come through, and no IDC. Nothing."

"Are there any teams off-world?" Richard asked.

"No," John answered, quickly doing a mental tally.

A screech of static emitted from the console. Then a voice erupted, weak. A child's voice, interlaced with static. "…to come to Dagan. We need help after a terrible purge by the Wraith. I need to contact Doctor McKay. Please come to Dagan. We need help after a terrible purge by the Wraith. I need to contact Doctor McKay. Please come to Dagan. We need help after…"

At a gesture from John the transmission was silenced by Chuck. After a moment the wormhole dissipated. Silence filled the control room.

"A distress call," Richard identified needlessly. "I wonder how long it's been transmitting and only now we were able to receive it. They dialed in so they know our address and were able to make a sustained connection."

"Like R2 playing the message from…never mind," John said, scowling.

"You've been to Dagan?" Richard asked, trying not to smile at the movie reference.

"Yes. Years ago," John answered, regaining his solemnity. "They had a ZPM but they wouldn't give it to us. They were keeping it as a holy relic for when the Ancients returned," he explained, the disdain in his voice quite noticeable. "And then one of them betrayed us to the Genii. Stupid people," he grumbled more to himself and the city than to the others. His fingers played across the console for a moment.

"Nevertheless they were an ally, of sorts, and they are calling for help," Richard decided. He straightened, folded his arms across his chest.

"Yeah, I guess we better go," John agreed after a moment but he was reluctant. "Lorne, prep a team of marines just in cast this is another Genii feint but I want you to stay in the city while I am gone. Stick to our mission roster as assigned. I'll get my team ready to go in ten."

"Do you think that is necessary, colonel?" Richard asked, looking from one to the other as the two military men seemed to be communicating nonverbally. He found it unsettling. "An extra team of marines, even if this is a rescue mission seems overly cautious."

"Read the report," John retorted, his hands on the console. Power thrummed under his touch. "I don't want to be surprised by the Genii or any other betrayal again. And if they have a ZPM we are going to take it this time, no explanations required."

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

"Wow." Rodney stared round at what was left of the village. Trees were scorched, burned to the ground. Buildings were shattered beyond ruins, merely chunks of stone and brick and melted by high-powered weaponry. The air was cold, damp. A metallic tinge colored it. He lowered the binoculars and wordlessly handed them to Teyla Emmagan. "I'd be surprised if anyone was left here."

"Wraith?" John asked, stepping round the DHD. He gestured and the marines flanked the team, weapons at the ready. He fingered the device that had been transmitting the recording. Someone had activated it, but there was no one in sight.

"Yes colonel," Teyla acknowledged. She handed the binoculars to Ronon Dex. "I have seen this kind of retaliation and it is their way to decimate a village as an example and to make it uninhabitable."

"But why?" Ronon asked, restoring the binoculars to Rodney. "There were no Hoffan plague survivors here."

"At least none that we know about," Rodney temporized. "Remember we have been gone for a few months, and haven't visited this world in years."

"The Daganians did not seem the kind to harbor fugitives," Teyla grimly remarked, recalling that their hospitality had been false, only given to achieve their own objectives.

"Then why destroy them?" Ronon asked. His question hung in the cold air, unanswered.

"We're gonna find out. Morris, fan out. Perimeter sweep. We'll advance and find what we can," John ordered. "Rodney, is there—"

"Not a damn thing, no energy signatures, nothing," Rodney answered the question before it had been completed. He pocketed his scanner along with his binoculars. "As I recall the Daganians had little in the way of any kind of technology."

"Let's head out."

The team began to head for the village, away from the DHD and the Stargate. For once John did not need his sunglasses. He patted them in his pocket nevertheless. Teyla was looking round for any signs of life. Ronon was doing the same but was looking for any signs of danger. Rodney was quiet for a change, seemingly lost in memories of the last time they had been here.

John found himself thinking back as well, but his mood was darker as he recalled being betrayed to the Genii, to Kolya and then having the ZPM taken from them by the Daganians. He shook his head at their childlike belief in the all-powerful Ancients, as if they would return like errant gods and restore the galaxy to peace.

Atlantis had returned, and only Atlantis could restore the galaxy.

Suddenly he stopped, held up his fist. The team halted. John looked round. He had heard a noise. His gaze darted all around as they stood on the road. A wind whistled above them, was gone. The destruction could be more clearly seen now. Buildings were nothing more than rubble that had been pulverized by powerful laser weapons. The intense heat had practically vitrified the materials to sand that was as smooth as glass.

"High, close bursts of energy. Look at that."

Rodney nodded, eying the remains. "Incredible. The heat must have been concentrated to induce that. Not staff weapons. It must have been a weapon from a ship in space."

"A Hive ship," Ronon agreed. "We endured the same on Sateda before the end." Ronon shoved the grim memories of his home world aside. The last days on Sateda before he had been captured had been brutal and bloody.

"Perhaps they culled the population as well," Teyla said softly.

"That wouldn't explain the distress call," John reminded. He looked round, adjusting the P90 in his hands. His finger stroked the trigger.

"Perhaps they are in hiding," Teyla reasoned.

"Or they gave up when no one answered the distress call," Rodney said.

"Or they ran to their good friends the Genii," John sourly noted. "We're wasting time here. Let's get back to Atlantis."

"John! We have barely arrived! Would you abandon these people so readily?" Teyla challenged, shocked at John's almost cavalier attitude. Even Ronon and Rodney appeared surprised as they all stared at their team leader.

John shrugged. He wasn't sure where all of this cold, dour sentiment was coming from but it felt right to him in this situation. Nevertheless he shook off the mood, licked his lips. "Fine. A quick recon but if we fail to make contact we return to base. Understood?" Without waiting for an answer or even agreement he turned to lead the team towards the remains of the village.

A noise made the men freeze and raise their weapons. Something was moving through the dry vegetation. It was making a scurrying sound. It was loud in the surrounding silence. Teyla stared, trying to peer through the mess of destruction and vegetation. She did not sense the Wraith and was not overly concerned. Whatever it was it sounded small, and she wondered if it was just some animal curious at the human voices.

"Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!"

A little boy emerged from the tangle of bushes and weeds and debris. He ran towards the adults, half tripping in his haste. He was a mess, with dirty clothes and a dirty face and light brown hair that kept flopping into his eyes. He made a beeline for Rodney and knocked into the startled physicist, nearly felling them both as he hugged the man's legs.

"What the…the…hey, hey, I think you've got the wrong guy!" Rodney stuttered, pushing free to stare at the little boy.

The little boy stared back at him, about to cry as his blue eyes widened. His lower lip quivered briefly. "You…you aren't Rodney McKay?"

"Yes, I am Doctor Rodney McKay," he sternly affirmed. "Who the hell are you?"

The boy smiled, relieved. "I am Barath," he announced in a high voice. "Barath Rodney McKay. I am your son."


	2. Chapter 2

Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share2

John was trying not to laugh, not to smile but his lips quirked with the effort. The look on Rodney's face was priceless. Never in all the years that he had known the physicist had John ever seen such complete and utter shock, surprise and disbelief on Rodney's face. His mouth was open but he was rendered silent, so silent not even a breath could be heard.

Ronon was grinning ear to ear. Teyla was staring, equally surprised but she recovered quickly. Amusement and speculation glimmered in her eyes. Guns were lowered.

John noticed that suddenly everyone was looking at him. "Hey, this has nothing to do with me," he defended.

"I always assumed when this did happen it would be you," Ronon stated.

"As did I," Teyla agreed with a smile.

"Hey, it wasn't me! Not this time! Not any time, I mean I am careful! I mean, oh crap! Rodney, is it possible?" he directed the attention back to his friend.

Rodney met his gaze, flustered. "Of course it's possible! I mean…" he faltered. "Oh."

"Would you like to tell us what happened?" Teyla asked.

"Isn't that obvious?" Ronon snorted.

"Not to me," John quipped.

"Is he your son?" Teyla asked, ignoring the jibes of the men.

"How the hell should I know?" Rodney snapped, backing away from the child as if distance would resolve the issue.

John allowed himself to smile now. "It's an easy question, Casanova, even for a scientist. Did you sleep with a woman here or not?"

"Perhaps it wasn't that memorable," Ronon commented.

"Not for her, anyway," John jested.

"Enough! I…I…I…" Rodney stammered. "Not exactly." Rodney was blushing.

"Not exactly?" John laughed as Ronon chuckled. "What does that mean? Do I need to bring in a biologist to explain the birds and the bees to you?"

"We should send for Carson," Teyla said, trying to keep a straight face as the men mercilessly teased their friend.

"Yes! Yes, send for Carson! He can clear this up in no time! He can take a genetic test, I mean take genetic samples and find if we are related, I mean if the kid is related to me because Carson and I are not related, not at all except in our pursuit of science not that medicine is a true science of course just a discipline of applied oh my I…" Rodney faltered again.

Teyla shook her head and moved to the boy. The child was staring at Rodney in wonder. He had never heard one person speak so many words at once, and so fast. "Barath, who is your mother?"

"Allina," he answered. "She sent me to greet you and to meet my daddy."

"Ah, well, that seals it," John remarked.

"Shut up! That does not—"

"Allina had quite the crush on you, as I recall and there you were pretending not to notice! I have to say I am impressed," John chuckled.

"A woman had a crush on him?" Ronon asked. His disbelief was obvious.

"Yes, believe it or not she did. Only he was too blind to see it…or so we thought," John stated. He elbowed his friend. "You dog you!" he joked.

"Rodney, what do you remember? Rodney?" Teyla moved to him, touched his arm. The physicist seemed to be lost in himself, in denial as he was staring at the grass, at his feet, at the trees, at anything but the boy in front of him.

"Huh? Oh. I…um, it was just a…that is to say it just sort of, um, happened…I mean it was very, very late that night and you were all asleep and I got up because I was hungry."

"What else is new?"

"John! You are not helping!" Teyla scolded. "Go on, Rodney," she soothed.

"And I ran into Allina," he added, blushing again.

"It usually takes more than just running into a woman," Ronon remarked.

"Ronon!" Teyla scolded as the men laughed. "Go on, Rodney," she encouraged.

Rodney swallowed, looking at nothing. "She was, she was working late, doing more research to find the Potentia, the ZPM as we call it, and I offered to help and we worked and worked and then we…I mean…it just happened, is all…" Rodney floundered.

"Wow. A one-night stand? I have to say, Rodney, I am both shocked and impressed."

"Working, huh?" Ronon jested.

"I think we all are surprised," Teyla agreed, but a look from her stilled the men's laughter. "Barath, take us to see your mother, please. We will help your people once we learn what has happened here." She gestured. The boy began to lead them, taking Rodney's hand.

John tapped his earpiece. "Morris, secure the 'Gate and send for Doctor Beckett. Tell him he needs to bring a DNA kit. He—" The boy's excited voice could be heard calling for daddy, and Rodney's voice refusing quickly. John smirked. "And no, that kid's not calling for me! Sheppard out."

John and Ronon exchanged a glance then followed, snickering. As they walked through what left of the woods the boy prattled on and on, voice rising in excitement. He was telling Rodney all about himself and about the aftermath of the attack and the new cave systems and how much his mother had told him about Rodney.

John advanced to walk next to Teyla. "So?"

Teyla smiled. "The child could very well be his son, colonel. There are many physical similarities, and his age is congruent with when we were here."

"Yeah, including the ability to talk endlessly."

"I heard that!" Rodney snapped.

"Sheppard."

The team halted at Ronon's warning. They had broken through the trees and were standing in a clearing. Hills rose in front of them, a wall of rocks and boulders tossed there by some long-ago avalanche or earthquake. Dark holes watched them like sightless eyes. The boy ran to one of them, shouting.

A few people emerged, including a woman that Rodney recognized. She was a lovely brunette with whom he had shared an attraction both physical and intellectual. She was a fellow scientist, of sorts. She had a brilliant mind but had been bound by the beliefs of the Brotherhood to deny them the ZPM they had so desperately needed at that time.

"Allina," Rodney said, glancing past her but the boy was nowhere to be seen.

"Rodney." The two stood staring at each other. Then she embraced him. "Thank goodness you came! I was afraid you were ignoring us, or did not receive our message, or decided not to come. I am so sorry! About the Potentia, about the Genii, about everything!" She drew back to meet his startled expression, to gauge his reaction. "We were foolish to cling to superstitions and old relics. We were foolish to think that the Potentias were some sort of sacred magical object and that the Ancients would return and reward us for protecting them."

Rodney was silent, staring at her. He didn't know what to say. It wasn't every day he was confronted with a woman from his past, a woman claiming that her son had been fathered by him, however inadvertently. This was more a Sheppard scenario than a McKay scenario.

"Potentias?" John asked, honing in on the plural word.

She glanced at him. "Yes, colonel. We found more. They had been hidden for centuries within this vast underground maze of caves. Those who survived hid there during the attacks."

"The Wraith?" Ronon asked.

"Yes," Allina confirmed, staring. This man was a stranger to her. "They culled then…stayed. As if they would colonize our world. In the end they destroyed our cities and just left."

"And the boy? Is he truly Rodney's son?" Teyla asked.

Allina regarded Rodney. "You have come to help us?"

"Yes," John answered, glancing at Teyla who had also noted the evasion. "How many ZPMs, er, Potentias are there?"

"Three, altogether, but one is badly damaged. I kept it in case you could fix it, Rodney. Come, please." She led him towards the caves.

John held back a few paces. Ronon joined him. "You know these people?"

"Yes. As I said, things didn't go so well the last time. We were still pretty new to the galaxy and Atlantis and all. We were naïve. We were just learning the ropes and Ford didn't expect to be jumped by the Genii." John frowned at the memory of the lost lieutenant and shoved it aside. "I'm just saying we didn't know then what we know now."

"You don't trust them," Ronon stated, gleaning the jist of what John was trying to say. It was one of those rare times when the military commander could give Rodney a run for his money.

"Exactly. Not all of them were in league with the Genii, only a fraction, but that could have changed during our absence."

"Got it." Ronon hefted his gun and strode after the others.

John turned, surveying the landscape. Blighted fields and withered trees met his gaze. It was a palette of grays and blacks and shadows, depressing in the utter destruction. He wondered what had happened to make the Wraith so vengeful. It was unlike them to nearly decimate a potential food source.

He turned back to the caves and headed for them.

His P90 was firmly in his hands.


	3. Chapter 3

Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share3

"What?" Carson was still staring at Evan as if the major had grown two heads. The two men stood in the cafeteria. Carson was holding a tray with a very delicious bacon and tomato sandwich with just a slice of cheese and a dollop of mayonnaise when Evan had told him he was needed off-world for a paternity test.

Carson briefly wondered if he was on the Maury Povich show.

Evan smiled. "I'm not making this up, doc. If I hadn't have heard it myself I wouldn't believe it either. But Morris swears he heard a kid calling daddy when Sheppard was giving him the order to get you, and Rodney was the one to reply."

"Rodney? Rodney has a child? Our Rodney?" Carson questioned, appearing dumbfounded. He eyed his sandwich as if it shared his astonishment. "Our Rodney has a child? With a woman?"

Evan snorted. "That's usually how it works, doc."

Carson laughed. "Aye, that it does. Are you sure you don't mean Colonel Sheppard?"

Evan laughed. "Yes. The colonel made that quite clear when Morris tried to ask the question. He wants you to bring a DNA kit to test for the kid's paternity."

"He suspects a deception."

"Maybe. We just need to be sure. Rodney really needs to be sure." The men chuckled. They could only imagine Rodney's shock and confusion.

"All right. Give me ten minutes to grab a test and a kit but even then I will have to be back in the lab to get any clear results and that will take hours." Although Carson wondered if he could speed up the results using his ATA and the city's more advanced technology. The way the city was responding to him he wondered if he could use that to his advantage, at least in a medical capacity. "You can't just take some blood and voila, you have the answers, son."

"As in who's your daddy?" Evan joked. The men laughed again.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

"How old are these caves?" Teyla asked as she followed Allina, single file as the rocks narrowed on either side of them. Torchlight wavered, casting fantastical shadows on the walls. Teyla had to duck down several times to avoid hitting her head, and she could only imagine what contortions the men with her were enduring as they were all taller than she.

"They have been buried for centuries," Allina answered. "They were the last refuge for our people when the Wraith came. We have not used them in several years."

"The Wraith attacked?" John called from the back. He was following after Rodney and scowling, having to duck down so often he was certain he would have a crick in his back all day.

"Yes, colonel. At first we believed it was a simple culling, and many were saved. But then the bombardment began."

"That doesn't make any sense," Ronon stated, feeling as if he was permanently bent in half as they proceeded lower and lower. He was half tempted to blast the rocks above him to give him some room to at least stand straight.

"It did not. Then they landed a ship as if their beams of light were not working. They used their weapons to destroy village after village after…village." Emotion broke her voice for a moment.

Silence. The only sound was the drip, drip, drip of water lost in the cave system.

"The Potentia," Rodney said quietly. "They must have been searching for the ZPMs. It's the only thing that makes sense. But how did they know about them in the first place?"

"I do not know. I do not believe that anyone would betray that knowledge to the Wraith or to their new queen, not even the Genii."

"What do you know about this queen?" John asked.

"Not much. Only that she is very powerful and has united the Hives. After Atlantis disappeared the Wraith could not be stopped. Not by the Genii. Not by the Coalition. Until the Wraith disappeared as well only to return under this queen. They passed by many worlds as if, as if running to something."

"Or running from something," John mused.

"Perhaps they learned of our return and sought to attack us in flight," Teyla remarked.

"That could explain that shockwave. Rodney? Rodney!"

"Huh?" Rodney had been lost in memories, in speculation. "No, it wasn't a long range scan or an energy beam like a weapon. It was the aftereffect of a massive explosion. Some kind of…" He broke off abruptly as they entered a cavernous grotto. The men sighed with relief as they could straighten to their full heights again. "ZPMs." There were dozens scattered on a table. Most were broken into pieces, bits of orange-yellow material shattered and splintered but a few, a precious few were intact. He made a beeline to the table.

"We believe this was once a hidden sanctuary for the Ancients," Allina explained. "Several of the Potentias were found here, but several have been destroyed as you can see. We now know that they belong in Atlantis, the city of the Ancients."

"What about the Coalition or the Genii?" John asked, glancing round as people began to emerge from the shadows. Many bore bandages and were limping. Others appeared gravely ill, like pallid ghosts. Some could only move a few steps before having to stop and rest. Several could not move at all and just sat, staring as the torchlight revealed their decrepit forms. "Have you had any contact with them?"

"No. We sent out distress messages but no one answered. We grew despondent and had to retreat to the caves as many were becoming ill after the attacks. Many died."

"Radiation," Rodney muttered, fingers skimming over the broken ZPMs. He hesitated, but his scanner was indicating that all was safe.

"More died when the earthquakes began. They are becoming more frequent after the attack and we fear the caves may no longer be safe."

"Now she tells us," Ronon commented, glancing up at the tons of rock above his head.

"Our doctor is coming and he will be able to help you. All of you," Teyla assured, looking round at the assorted population. There were not many able-bodied among them.

"Rodney, are the ZPMs functional?" John asked, stepping to the table. He cradled his P90 in his arms, secure at the moment. These people could not pose any kind of danger to them. He eyed the pieces of Ancient tech and scowled at the loss, at how careless these supposed custodians had been of their precious relics.

"What? Oh…maybe…" Rodney forced himself to concentrate on the problem at hand.

"Colonel Sheppard, please respond," crackled a voice in John's ear.

John stepped aside, tapping his earpiece and adjusting the radio at his shoulder. "Morris, copy. Do you read? Is Beckett with you?"

"Yes, sir." He glanced at the doctor. Carson was looking around, frowning at the destruction and devastation as the wormhole collapsed into nothing behind them. He gripped his medical kit in one hand, a sidearm in the other. "What's your twenty?"

"Ronon will lead you in. Keep on the 'Gate." At a nod Ronon sighed and began to make his laborious way back up the narrow trail and out of the caves. John allowed himself a smirk before schooling his expression once more.

"Decreased power levels…but we can still use them, maybe all of them if I can somehow patch these together," Rodney muttered, running his scanner over the assortment. "Two are fine and fully powered, just inert from centuries of inactivity. The third one here is half-depleted and slightly damaged but I think I can fix it. The others well…" He sighed.

"I have been putting them together. See?" Barath joined Rodney at the table. The little boy smiled, pushing a half-completed ZPM towards the scientist. "The pieces fit, see?"

"A ZPM is hardly a jigsaw puzzle to be…oh yes, I see," Rodney temporized. He touched the ZPM and the cracks in it where the broken pieces did indeed fit together. "Does this stay like this? I mean it's not like you have Elmer's glue, do you?"

"It stays when I press it. Mommy says it must be handled gently, but I can make the pieces fit."

"Because your hands are so small," Rodney realized, thinking for a moment that the kid had the ATA gene…possibly inherited from him even though his had been administered and wasn't natural. That still didn't prove anything, however. "This is actually pretty good. This piece looks to fit here, except the crystal components are missing and the region of subspace time is no longer contained in the vacuum."

"What?" the little boy asked.

"It doesn't work," Rodney translated, shrugging. The boy was giving him a baffled look he usually saw on John's face. "If we put this one together I might be able to make it work, with an interface and a lot of luck."

"Mommy says I am lucky."

"Are you? Well, then, let's see if we can fix this one."

"Yes, daddy, see? I make it fit!" The little boy took the piece and carefully, carefully set it along the jagged lines where one end matched another. His look of concentration and confidence matched Rodney's as they quietly worked on the tattered Ancient device.

"Doctor Beckett is on his way. If anyone can help your people he can," Teyla stated. She moved towards a woman who was stumbling, and gently helped her to a seated position. She smiled, watching Rodney and the little boy working together. She looked over to see Allina watching as well, but the woman's expression was unreadable.

John was examining the cave walls, the rocky ceiling, ignoring the human toll around him as he gauged the structural damage. "We should probably move as many as we can out of here now." As if in response he felt a faint rumbling under his boots. It only lasted a few seconds but nevertheless John glanced round, assessing the quickest way out of the caves. "Is there only one ingress point?"

"Sorry?"

"Are there any other ways out of the caves?" Teyla translated.

"Oh. No. The other way is now blocked by a cave-in."

"Great. One narrow, treacherous ingress point," John muttered, shaking his head. "We'll need to move in teams, as quickly as we can." He eyed the refugees, calculating how difficult it would be to move all of them efficiently.

"Yes, thank you, colonel. Then we can all relocate to our new home. Atlantis."


	4. Chapter 4

Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share4

Carson was appalled at the devastation as he followed Ronon through the pitiful remains of a village, then across the pitiful remains of a forest. "How many are injured or ill?"

"Several. Some can't walk."

"I should go back for a proper medical kit, and a proper medical staff," Carson grumbled. He increased his stride to keep up with the taller man as Ronon headed towards a series of caves dotting the rocky terrain ahead of them.

"We didn't know until after Sheppard sent for you," Ronon explained. "We were just thinking of the kid and if he could…" He broke off as tremendous blast of wind rent the air, nearly knocking him off his feet. A weird whining filled his ears and the ground rumbled under his feet. "Earthquake!"

"The ground's not moving," Carson observed, staring up at the sky.

Ronon looked there as well. Streaks of light were screaming across the blue sky, but it wasn't lightning. Debris was falling as well, chunks that were not burning up in the atmosphere but instead raining down in all shapes and sizes. "Let's go, doc!"

Carson stood staring at the falling sky. "Is it a meteor shower or asteroids? I—"

"Doc! Double time!" Ronon yanked Carson into a run as a large chunk of something screeched through the air and hit the ground. Dirt plumed and a hot rush of wind propelled the two men. Now the ground was rumbling under their feet with the tremendous impact. Zigzagging they made their way towards the safety of the caves.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

"Colonel Sheppard? Colonel, we've got some kind of interstellar event going on out here!" Luke Morris stared up at the darkening sky. He hunched near the Stargate with his marines, trying to seek shelter near the giant stone ring. "Colonel, do you copy? Colonel Sheppard, please respond!"

John frowned at the voice in his ear. He tapped his radio. "Morris? Repeat that. What the hell is that supposed to mean? Morris! Damn it!" he swore as static crackled from his radio. "Rodney, can you boost the signal?"

Rodney looked up from the ZPMs and glanced round the cave. "What was that? Did you hear that?"

Teyla looked up at the ceiling as the rocks trembled. "I do believe we may be under attack," she said calmly.

"No. Morris said it was something from the sky, maybe a meteor shower or asteroids or a comet. Rodney, come with me!" John headed for the narrow passage. The ground shook and he touched the wall to steady himself. A large noise echoed, echoed like a sluggish heartbeat.

"What's that? A sonic boom?" Rodney whirled, glancing up as the rocky ceiling trembled.

"You tell me! I'm no astronomer!" John called over his shoulder. The physicist followed after him. "Morris, report! Morris! Ronon, respond!" John moved as quickly as he could, doubling over several times as the ceiling dropped, dropped and the walls closed in around him. He heard Rodney grumbling on his heels. "Morris, please respond! Ronon, do you copy? Damn it!"

Rodney hastened after John. "There's too much interference!"

"Gee, ya think?" John snapped. He reached the entrance and stepped out of the caves, only to backpedal and he knocked into Rodney.

"Hey! What the…whoa." Rodney stepped past John as both men stared up at the sky.

The blue sky was streaked with streams of bright light and atmospheric explosions that bloomed in brilliant clouds of yellow and orange. Debris was falling all around them, chunks that whined with excessive speeds and trailing plumes of smoke and radiation until they slammed into the ground. Trees were being flattened. Craters were being created by the larger pieces.

It looked like some cheesy end of the world Syfy movie but it was very real and very dangerous as the sky seemed to vomit piece after piece of whatever had exploded above the planet.

"Damn…" John muttered, reaching for his gun although it would be useless in this situation. A large chunk landed close, spraying the men with dirt as it drilled into the ground. "That's a—"

"Piece of ship," Rodney finished for him. "Son of a bitch! That's Wraith!" He pointed at the oddly angular piece of prow that was stuck like a javelin in the ground. Something was leaking from the wreckage and Rodney recalled that Wraith ships were partly organic.

"Sheppard!" Ronon came into view, hauling Carson after him as the two men ran through an obstacle course, as if they were balls in a crazy pinball machine. John gestured for them to hurry.

"A ship?" John asked. "Are you sure?"

"Looks like it to me! A big one too, a Hive ship! Maybe it hit an asteroid field or had a serious systems malfunction or was blown to bits by another Hive, although I thought the Wraith were united so—"

"Theorize later! Morris, copy?" John shouted, slamming his hand onto his radio. He stepped aside as Ronon and Carson ran into the relative safety of the caves. "Morris? If you can hear me maintain position! Find a safe place! We'll be coming to you!"

"John, I'm taking readings and I don't think the Wraith did this…the isotope signature is not like their weaponry," Rodney stated, waving his scanner in the air like a magic wand.

"What? Then who? The Genii don't have the firepower to destroy a Hive like this!"

"But the Ancients did. Maybe the Genii found another one of those outposts and activated it. But they would have to have the ATA to do that, and they certainly don't have the physics to get one of those platforms working."

"Whatever, let's go!" John herded Rodney back into the caves and down the tunnel to the main grotto. People were muttering, frightened and staring up at the ceiling as it trembled, trembled. Carson was already at work, tending to the wounded, medical kit open next to him.

Teyla moved to the men as Ronon strode round the grotto, seeking for another way to exit the underground sanctuary before it became a tomb. Tunnels were blocked or non-existent. "John, we are no longer safe here. Are the Wraith—"

"No. One of their ships exploded in space and the fallout could kill us," John informed. The ground shook under his feet. Rocks were falling off the walls now, causing several of the Daganians to cry out in fear. It felt as if the whole world was tilting like a carnival ride.

"A tunnel collapsed and several were crushed," Teyla said softly. "There was nothing we could do, but we can help the people here."

"Colonel, we must evacuate now," Allina said, moving to him. She held Barath's hand and the little boy was staring round with wide eyes.

"Not now. The sky is falling," John replied.

"Will that damage the 'Gate?" Ronon asked, joining them.

All looked to Rodney. He was eying the table full of ZPM components. He met their gazes. "What? No! At least I don't think so. We have to go out there, John! I, for one, do not want to be permanently entombed here!"

"You'd rather be pulverized out there?" John snapped, but he knew the scientist was right. He looked round. "Listen up!" he decided. "Move everyone up that tunnel to the entrance! As soon as it's clear we will 'Gate to Atlantis to treat the wounded and then find you a safe harbor."

"Thank you, colonel," Allina said, but she frowned. "We will stay in Atlantis. It is the least you can do, given that we have provided several Potentias for you. It is our birthright as much as it is yours. It is his birthright." She set her hands on Barath's shoulders, her meaning obvious. Everyone glanced at Rodney.

"We'll see about that," John commented. "As for the rest of your people you will be guests, not tenants. Carson?"

"I need help here, colonel! We need gurneys to transport these people and supplies now!" the doctor demanded. "We canna wait for whatever's happening out there!" His Scottish accent became more pronounced as he became more agitated.

"We can't risk it, doc." John tapped his radio, but static answered him. "I can't make contact."

"You think they got hit?" Ronon asked.

Carson stood and moved to John. "People are dying here, colonel! We have to go now!" he insisted. As if to back his words the cave rumbled and rocks began to rain from the ceiling.

John looked round. "Help those you can to the entrance and we will advance to the 'Gate. Take only the mobile ones."

"What? We can't—"

"We don't have a choice, doc!" John argued sternly. "Look around you! This whole thing's about to bury us alive! It's either some or none. We'll move in pairs."

"John! We will make as many trips as necessary to—" Teyla began, shocked. A cave wall erupted, shedding rocks and scree as it collapsed in response to some impact.

"We move who we can now before we all end up being trapped here, got it?" John ordered.

"We're really going out there?" Rodney asked, forgetting for a moment that it was in fact what he had been arguing for in the first place. "We'll be pulverized!"

"Would you rather be buried alive?" John asked. "Grab those ZPMs, all of them, every piece!"

"Barath, come and help me load this pack," Rodney invited. The little boy rushed to aid the scientist.

"You would save those ZPMs instead of a few more people?" Teyla angrily confronted, seeing that Rodney would be unable to help anyone with his load of Ancient tech.

"Yes," John answered simply, but he could not meet the gaze of the Athosian. He stepped past her. "Ronon, take only those who can walk. Carson, let's get moving now! Rodney, use this!" He tossed the physicist another pack.

A tremendous groaning resounded through the cave. Part of the ground abruptly folded in on itself. People screamed, falling. Rocks were tumbling down as a jolt sent the mountain to shaking violently.

"Move, move, move!" John shouted, helping a man as his teammates were helping others along the tunnel. The screams of those left behind could be heard but John focused on each step, each torturous step along the narrowing passage. Pebbles rained upon him and he ducked, half dragging his companion until he reached the surface. He whirled as a cough of dust and dirt exploded behind him and the whole cavern collapsed.

"No, no!" Allina stood, staring in horror at the rubble. She held Barath's hand tightly. "We have to go back! There must be another way! If we go round the—"

"No. I'm sorry, but we can't risk it. This is all we can do. Let's go. We still have to get to the 'Gate." John stepped past her. "I'll take the six. Teyla, take point. Keep to the middle section there and go as fast as you can." He looked up to see pieces of ship still showering down like a hailstorm. "Let's go, people!"

"Colonel! I cannot leave some to save others!" Allina argued.

"That's your choice. I've made mine."

John stepped round her and followed after his team.


	5. Chapter 5

Stargate Atlantis: Lion's Share5

John stood, arms crossed in front of his chest, stance unmovable as he stood in Richard's office. He was eying the balding man as he sat at his desk, adjusting his glasses as he spoke to the attractive woman seated across from him. John was ready to argue, bracing himself for another confrontation, but to his surprise Richard only uttered one word.

"No."

Allina frowned. It had been a harrowing rush to the Stargate where the colonel's men were waiting, injured but alive. Now the surviving Daganians were being treated in Carson's infirmary, but there were few, so few. And now she was facing this final insult from her would-be saviors. "No? We are the heirs of Atlantis as much as your people are! Perhaps even more as we were the guardians of the Potentia long before you even discovered the city of the Ancients! We have given you three of the Potentias and several broken ones as well! And now you tell me, Rodney tells me that our world is uninhabitable and will remain so for years! Yet you deny us!"

"I thank you for the ZPMs, depleted and broken as they are, and I am sorry for the devastation of your planet and your people, but Atlantis right now just doesn't have the resources to add to our population. We will heal your injured, but after that you must be relocated."

Allina scowled. She glanced at John. "Did you have a hand in this?" she accused.

Before John could reply Richard answered. "No. I made the decision. The colonel endorsed it. Our resources are not limitless. At our present state we cannot support an influx of new inhabitants. We can find you a safe world, a friendly world with one of your trading partners."

"You cannot mean to turn us out like so much garbage! He, he forced me to leave several of my people behind!" She pointed at John. "If not for his insistence many more could have been saved!"

"If not for his decisive action many more would have been lost, including yourself and your son," Richard argued, causing John to eye Atlantis' leader with renewed respect.

"And now you refuse to mount a rescue mission to—"

"Until I am convinced it is safe and the danger of radiation is no longer a threat all rescue operations are suspended. I'm sorry, but the risk is too great."

"We're done here," John stated. "The only question left is about the boy, and Beckett will have the answer soon enough. But let me ask you," he said, moving to glare at the woman. "Is he Rodney's son?"

Allina met his gaze. He was looking at her, expression stern, suspicious. His green eyes were narrowed. "Truly I do not know. I was with another before Rodney but I have raised Barath as Rodney's son. He truly is the heir to Atlantis. When he touches the Potentia they dance to life, just like when Rodney touches them. He is the heir to Atlantis because of this gift."

"Heir or not Doctor Beckett will answer that question," Richard said.

Allina turned to him. "And if he is? Will you turn him out of Atlantis then?" She stood. "You would not dare turn out one who is like the Ancients and can use his gifts in this city! Would you deny Rodney his own son? Would you deny Atlantis one of its own?"

Richard shrugged, not having an answer.

XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX XxX

Carson eyed the data pad for a moment. Hearing a giggle he turned. Barath was laughing, a joyous carefree sound that only a child could make. Rodney was smiling, shaking his head and holding a bio scanner. Allina stood near, smiling as well and the three presented a pretty picture: man, woman, child.

A picture of a family brought together by tragedy and accident.

"It's true!" Rodney insisted with a grin. "It says right here that you are a living ZPM!"

"I'm not! I'm a boy!" Barath insisted with another giggle.

"Science cannot tell a lie, Barath. See this little light." Rodney turned the scanner, manipulating the machine so that it flashed an orange color. "This proves you are a ZPM. I will have to hook you up to Atlantis and you will be able to run the city! Of course you will grow a pointed head, though."

"Rodney!" Allina scolded, but the three laughed at the silly jest.

"What? You both know what the ZPMs look like! They have pointed heads and so will Barath, plus he will turn orange yellow."

"No! I don't wanna be orange yellow!" Barath announced. "Mommy?"

"You will not turn orange yellow," Allina assured as she elbowed Rodney and met his gaze. "Besides, are you not allergic to citrus?"

"Yes, I am. Oh oh! If Barath turns into a lemon I will have to peel him!"

The boy shrieked in delight as Rodney grabbed him and swung him off his feet. He set him down as suddenly everyone was watching them. Abashed the physicist shrugged. "I have experience playing with my nephew like that. I…"

"I hope that he is your son, Rodney," Allina said, touching his arm. "If he is you will allow us to remain, yes?"

"Of course! I would insist and we…" Suddenly the prospect of an immediate wife and child out of the blue was daunting. He wiped his brow, encountering stray beads of sweat. He hadn't been this nervous since his first science exhibit when he was six years old. Of course he had won. He debated what winning would mean in this particular situation. "Carson!" he barked, his tone very reminiscent of the military commander.

Carson sighed. He walked over to them. All three were staring at him, trying to discern the answer from his expression, from the way he walked, from the way he held his data pad.

"Rodney, Allina, Barath, I have the results of the genetic test. Do you wish to retire to a more private area?" he offered. The infirmary was crowded with patients and staff and everyone was watching the little group while the public drama unfolded in front of them.

Carson rued the absence of television at such moments.

"No! I mean, no, just tell us, Carson, please," Rodney said, glancing at Allina who nodded. Her gaze was sad and worried, hopeful and tense, mirroring Rodney's own conflicting emotions. Barath was looking from one to the other, not really understanding but sensing that something serious was about to happen, because the adults all had serious expressions now.

Carson told them.

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John found Rodney on the southeast pier. He was sitting, staring up at the darkness as the stars glittered in the sky and sparkled down on the ocean. It was a peaceful, quiet evening. A soft breeze blew, warm as a whisper. Wordlessly John sat next to his friend, swinging his long legs over the pier to dangle his feet over the water. He handed Rodney a beer after opening himself one. The can was cold to the touch.

The physicist took it, startled. "Thanks." The two men sipped their beer, staring out at the night. The city was brightness against the gloom, tall towers spangled with golden light that shone softly on the waves. Rodney let the alcohol lubricate his throat and loosen his tongue before he spoke again. "He's not."

"Ah." John sipped his beer, waiting. He knew exactly what Rodney had meant, but he also knew Rodney would have to say more, would need to say more. So he waited, sipping his beer and enjoying the peaceful evening. The breeze ruffled his hair.

"Carson told us, Allina and me. Barath is not my son," he clarified needlessly. He took a deep swallow of the beer. He held the cold can in both hands, eying the label.

"You okay?" John asked, glancing at his friend.

"Yes. No. I don't know." Rodney sighed. "I never thought about it, you know? Having a kid, I mean. Having a kid out here of all places, I mean. Hell, I can't even get past the proposal, much less get down the aisle." He drank with deep swallows. "There's nothing between Allina and me now. That's over. It never really began, actually." He snorted. "Still, it was, it was sort of, sort of nice, for a while. The idea of having a, a kid, a son was nice. Little Rodney junior." He allowed himself a sad smile.

"Not Meredith junior?" John gently teased.

"No!"

John snorted in amusement. He drank. The two men sat in silence, imbibing the alcohol and enjoying the warm night, the quiet. The waves rolled back and forth, back and forth under their feet. It was a soothing sound. John touched the pier with his free hand. He could almost feel the heartbeat of the city, like a soft purr reacting to his touch, even out here. He withdrew his hand and drank his beer.

"Have you?"

"Have I what?" John asked, as Rodney's voice broke the quiet.

Rodney glanced at him, setting his half-empty beer can aside. "You know. Have you thought about it. Thought about having a kid out here."

"I dunno. Maybe someday. Out here. A son." He shrugged, watched the waves. He hadn't really thought about it much. Saving the city and the galaxy took up too much of his time, not to mention the lack of any serious relationships. Ascended women might adore him but they weren't much for sticking around which suited him just fine, except at times like this when he found himself thinking about it.

When he found himself thinking about his lonely bed in his empty room.

"John junior?"

"Of course," he agreed solemnly, causing Rodney to smile. "The right woman just hasn't come along yet," he explained, as if he had to exculpate the lack of a wife, a family.

Rodney smiled as he looked at John. The military commander had a serious, almost wistful expression on his face. He did not appear to be the carefree ladies' man at the moment, revealing a more serious, complex individual beneath the flirtatious outward behavior. City lights threw his profile into sharp relief, casting the rest of him in shadow. Rodney patted John's shoulder. "She will, John. She will."

John grunted non-committedly.

The two men sat in silence, contemplating their lives.

They contemplated their lives in Atlantis, and the lack of any serious female companionship.

Most of all they sat in silence and drank the beer.


End file.
